A law that would have meant a DUI conviction if you had trace amounts of THC in your blood failed in the state legislature last week.

AB 2500 by Assemblyman Jim Frazier would have meant you could be convicted of driving under the influence if any amount of THC metabolites were found in your blood stream.

But the legislation was later amended to reflect a 2 nanograms-per-millileter blood limit, which is much lower than the 5-nanograms limit being discussed by many prosecutors and lawmakers.

Medical marijuana advocates argue that no limit is really fair because the metabolites can stay in your system for days. They've said that marijuana DUI limits will ensnare users who might have medicated a day or two before driving but who are not high.

NORML said:

Because THC remains detectable in the bloodstream for hours or days after use, well after deleterious effects have faded, the bill would make marijuana users liable for DUI regardless of whether they were actually impaired at the time.

The bill was defeated in the Assembly Public Safety Committee 4-2. One of the no votes came from a longtime advocate for sensible cannabis policy, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.

The proposed law also targeted cocaine, meth, heroin, morphine and other drugs. NORML says such legislation is not necessary when it comes to cannabis, though:

Even while marijuana usage has been increasing over the past decade, accident rates and DUI arrests in California have been declining. Some experts speculate that this may be because drivers are substituting marijuana for alcohol. In any case, the evidence seems clear that marijuana isn't causing an epidemic of accidents.

Missouri’s Senate vote unanimously to approve House Bill 2238 Thursday, sending the measure to the governor. The proposal would legalize the possession and distribution of low-THC cannabis extracts.

If signed into law by Governor Jay Nixon, or allowed to become law without his signature, House Bill 2238 would authorize the state’s Department of Agriculture to produce, manufacture and distribute cannabis extract that’s low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and high in CBD (cannabidiol). Those who receive a recommendation from a neurologist would be allowed to possess up to 20 ounces of the extracts.

The proposal also mandates the state to certify a college to cultivate cannabis for research purposes. Its passage in the Senate will send it to the state’s governor for consideration.

The Obama Administration needs hundreds and hundreds of pounds of marijuana this year, more than 30 times the amount of pot it originally ordered for 2014.

But don’t get any funny ideas. The pot is medicinal, and it’s needed for research purposes.

The Obama administration needs hundreds of pounds of marijuana… for research purposes. (AP Photo)

The Drug Enforcement Administration put out a rule on Monday that adjusts the annual production quota of medical marijuana for the U.S. government. That pot, produced by the University of Mississippi, is used by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse to conduct research on medical marijuana.

The NIDA’s research is in demand as states around the country consider legalizing medical marijuana, and as pressure is growing on the federal government to decriminalize it.

And that demand means the federal government needs a lot more pot than it thought it needed. The DEA had originally set out a production quota of 21 kilograms of pot for 2014.

But the new regulation bumped that quota up to 650 kilograms, or about 1,430 pounds.

The price for a kilogram of marijuana varies from state to state, but hovers around $1,000 in many states — using that price, that puts the street value of the government’s order at about $650,000.

The DEA rule says the production increase is needed to ensure NIDA has enough product on which to conduct its research.

“NIDA recently notified the DEA that it required additional supplies of marijuana to be manufactured in 2014 to provide for current and anticipated research efforts involving marijuana,” the rule stated. “The DEA was unaware of NIDA’s additional need at the time the initial aggregate production quote for marijuana was established in September 2013.

“The aggregate production quote for marijuana should be increased in order to provide a continuous and uninterrupted supply of marijuana in support of DEA-registered researchers who are approved by the Federal Government to utilize marijuana in their research protocols.”

The rule shows the government can get as much pot as it needs, something most Americans still cannot do given that marijuana is a controlled substance. Many Democrats have proposed legislation that would take medical marijuana off this list, and several Republicans are also on board with this policy change.